Conclusion

Abstract

I end this book by revisiting some of the themes with which it began—specifically, the personal motivations that inspired me to write, and the wider significance of what I have written. In the former case, two of these motivations were practical: first, situating my work in ineffability discourse within the context of a historically grounded and religiously diverse philosophy of religion; second, constructing a theoretical foundation for my department’s public program in comparative philosophy of religion. I am happy to say that over the next two academic years (2013–15) these ends will coincide: Drake University’s public program in comparative philosophy of religion, the Comparison Project, has taken ineffability as its topic. It will invite scholars of religion to detail the particularities of specific cultural-historical discourses of ineffability, focusing on the reasons why, linguistic means by which, and political ends toward which ultimate beings and experiences are deemed ineffable. It will then ask philosophers of religion to compare these descriptions, raising questions of explanatory and evaluative significance in the process. Why do I mention this here? Because it offers both an actual illustration and a possible examination of the philosophy of religion outlined in this book.KeywordsPublic ProgramActual InstancePersonal MotivationWide SignificanceThick DescriptionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.